All About My Partner
(Rick Shur)
page 1 of 2
Ask your partner some of these questions and write a well-organized essay telling us all about
him or her. You can create paragraphs simply by following the groupings below.
Notes on reporting speech in an interview:
For things your partner tells you use present tense reporting speech (she says, he tells me, etc.):
Maria tells me that she likes any kind of Dominican food, especially mangu, which she has for breakfast every
day.
Use past tense reported speech only for conversations that your partner had with somebody else (not you) in
the past:
Maria tells me had an argument with her boss one day. She told him that he was a monster and that she
wouldn’t make coffee for him any more because she wasn’t a slave.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Hi. What’s your name?
Where are you from?
When did you come to the United States?
Who did you come with to this country?
Are you glad you came to this country?
6. Where do you live (in which neighborhood)?
7. Who lives with you?
8. What kind of house or apartment do you live in?
9. What do you like about your home? What, if anything, do you dislike about it?
10. Are you planning to stay there or hoping to move someday?
11. Do you want to talk about your family?
12. Are you married?
13. Do you have any children?
14. Which relatives live here in New York?
15. Which relatives live in your home country?
16. Is there anybody in your home country who you miss?
17. Do you want to talk about your education?
18. How much schooling did you get in your home country?
19. What subjects did you like in high school?
20. Did you go to college in your home country?
21. Did you get a college degree in your home country, and if so, in what field?
22. Did you do well in junior high and high school?
23. Where did you study English before coming to this class?
24. What other schools have you attended in New York?
25. What is your major going to be at LaGuardia?
26. Do you want to talk about your work life?.
27. Did you work in your home country? If so, what did you do?
[http://eslprof.com/handouts/Comp/65 questions.doc]
All About My Partner
(Rick Shur)
page 2 of 2
Ask your partner some of these questions and write a well-organized essay telling us all about
him or her. You can create paragraphs simply by following the groupings below.
28. Have you ever had a job here in New York? (Do you have one currently?)
29. If you have a job, where do you work and what do you do?
30. If you have a job, do you like your work?
31. What kind of job would you like to get in the future?
32. Do you want to talk about your favorite things?
33. What's your favorite color, food, sport, music?
34. What's your favorite season, and why?
35. What kinds of clothes do you feel most comfortable wearing?
36. What are your favorite sports to watch, and what sports do you like to do or play?
37. What is one of your favorite places to go in New York City?
38. How do you spend most of your free time?
39. What are your hobbies and favorite free-time activities? What do you do for fun?
40. Do you like to go shopping? Do you enjoy listening to music?
41. Do you want to talk about your personality?
42. Are you outgoing and friendly, or reserved and shy?
43. What are the strong points about your personality?
44. Do you have any special talents?
45. Do you enjoy meeting new people? Is it easy for you to make friends?
46. Do you have any bad habits? Is there anything you should quit doing?
47. Is there anything about your personality that you would like to change?
48. What makes you happy? What makes you angry? What makes you sad?
49. Do you want to talk about bad experiences in your life?
50. Have you ever been in an accident, or had a friend or relative who was in an accident?
51. Have you ever been the victim of a crime, or has any friend or relative been one?
52. Have you ever been really sick? If so, what was wrong with you and how long did it take
you to recover (…or have you fully recovered)?
53. Have you ever had legal trouble? If so, when and what kind of trouble?
54. Have you ever lost anything that was valuable to you?
55. Have you ever lost anyone who was precious to you, like a friend, relative or pet?
56. Have you ever been hurt by somebody? If so, how did you deal with it?
57. Have you ever done something stupid? If so, what did you learn from your mistake?
58. Have you had any wonderful experiences in your life so far?
59. Have you ever traveled to other countries or states in this country?
60. If so, where have you been? What places have you been to that you really liked?
61. Have you ever done something exciting or met someone exciting?
62. Have you ever won a prize, or money, or a competition of any kind?
63. What are your goals, hopes or dreams for the future?
64. What do you hope to do after you finish college?
65. How are planning to make your dreams come true?
[http://eslprof.com/handouts/Comp/65 questions.doc]